Steamin' at the Seams

He pulls away after a few moments and eyes me warily. I burst into tears.

This sudden torrent of emotion surprises me, and I curl up in a ball, Jacob's arms still at my waist, and cover my face with my hands.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Jacob asks. He sounds worried.

"You kissed me!" I say in an attempt at an explanation.

"Did you not want me to?"

I shake my head. "No, I like you!"

"Then what's wrong?" He asks, confused.

"You hate me!" I wail.

Before I know what's happened, I find myself moved form sitting next to Jacob to being on his lap, curled against his chest.

He holds me close, speaking softly. "I don't hate you."

"That's not what you told Embry," I sniffle, desperately trying to stop crying.

I’m not having much luck.

"I lied. I don't hate you. I could never hate you. Don't forget that," Jacob says.

I relax in his arms, resting my forehead against Jacob's neck as the tears slowly subside.

"Hey Jacob?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you imprinted on anyone?" I ask.

"Yeah," he answers.

The hole in my chest, which was quickly healing in Jacob's tight hold, busts wide open.

"Then why'd you kiss me?" I ask, confused.

"I wanted to see if it would affect the imprinting." I can hear the grin in his voice. Luckily, though, he doesn't seem to hear the bleeding hole in mine.

"Did it?"

"Yes," He says decidedly.

Poor girl. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," He says easily. "It affected it a little, but it didn't change anything."

"OK," I say quietly. I don't speak for a few minutes, then I ask "What's she like?"

"Well," Jacob says, "She's gorgeous. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She's very smart. Funny, too. I love talking to her. She fits perfectly into my arms."

I sigh. "She sounds wonderful."

"She's perfect," Jacob says in an agreeing tone. His words drip acid onto my wounded heart.

"Does she know the secret?"

"Yeah."

"Will I ever meet her?"

Jacob shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe."

This topic hurts too much. "Tell me about the wolves."

"OK. You know that we're descended form them. The Spirit Warriors. Shape-shifters.

"Sam is the Alpha. I'm his second. I guess you could call me the 'Beta'. I'm bigger, though.

"We heal super fast. When we're in our wolf-form, we can hear each others' thoughts. We don't age."

"What? You don't age!?" I ask, incredulous.

Jacob chuckles. "No, when we first phase, we stop aging. Once we can give up the change and stay human for long periods of time, we age again. Right before we first phase, though, we have this huge growth spurt."

"So that's why you look so old."

"Yep."

"Is that why you've got such a high temperature, too?" I ask.

"Yeah. I run at about one-oh-eight-point-nine these days," He says cheerily.

"Wow." I mull over what he's told me, then ask "Have you ever fought any other vampires besides the one today?"

"Yeah, this past Spring, actually," Jacob says. "We killed a leech that was going to kill Bella, then fought an army of newborn vamps."

"Wow," I breathe. "Are new vampires very different than…mature ones?"

"They're a lot stronger, but bad fighters. They rely mostly on instinct. They're more bloodthirsty, too."

"Why was there an army?"

"This wild female bloodsucker made it to kill Bella. Something about getting revenge for her mate's death."

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"Me." His tone sounds like a mix of pride and embarrassment. "Crushed the bones in the right half of my body."

"Holy crap!" I lean back, looking up at him. "You do heal fast!"

Jacob laughs. "Good thing."

"I'll say," I say, leaning back into him. I yawn.

"Maybe you should get into bed," Jacobs says. "You seem exhausted."

"OK," I sigh, my eyelids drooping. I crawl out of Jacob's arms, up to the head of the bed. I slide under the covers, glad that I changed into comfy shorts and a tank top when I got home.

"Bye," Jacob says, standing up and heading for the door.

"Wait," I say sleepily.

"What?" He asks, standing at the foot of my bed.

"Will you stay with me?" I ask, struggling to keep my eyes open. Stronger than this sudden drowsiness, I can feel my Jacob craving inching its way back to me.

"Sure," He says, grinning. He walks over to the air conditioner on the wall in the corner and turns it on high. "Don't want you overheating, with me being so hot."

"That's what she said," I slur. He laughs.

He walks over to the bed and crawls under the covers next to me. I lay on his chest, using his shoulder as a pillow.

"Who's this?" he asks, pulling lightly on Patrick, clutched in my arms.

"Patrick," I say softly, sinking into blackness.

"Do you like Patrick better than me?" Jacob asks teasingly.

I yawn. "No, Jacob, don't worry. I don't like anybody better than you."

He doesn't say anything, but under my fingers, through the thin cotton of his t-shirt, I can feel his heart rate quicken.

I'm almost asleep when I remember to ask "Will she mind?"

Jacob knows that I mean the girl who he imprinted on. "No, she won't mind."